The ability to store increasing amounts of data leads to spiraling information life cycle management problems. Even as storage media are able to store an increasing amount of data at decreasing cost on a per unit basis, the growth in data collection results in undesirable data storage costs.
As information technology management objectives shift to include cost control efforts, an increased emphasis on IT environment optimization has been felt in many IT departments. Controlling information becomes a higher priority as the strategic alignment of business with IT becomes increasingly defined and mature. Indeed, many IT budgets have storage as the largest line item, resulting in increased pressure to contain storage costs. In response to increasing cost pressures, IT management is driven to review the information itself.
It is therefore a challenge to develop a method to develop information life cycle strategies to overcome these, and other, disadvantages.